The present invention relates to a process for placing an optical fiber in a connector tip as well as to a connector tip or ferrule for this process.
More particularly, the invention relates to the connection of optical mono-fibers. Such fibers comprise a core, a casing or "cladding", and an outside sheath for mechanical protection. In order to assure the alignment of luminous flux in the core of the fiber, the refraction index of the core is greater than the refraction index of the cladding. Thus, fibers have been made whose core is pure silica and where the casing is made of silicone. The outside sheathing for mechanical protection is made of plastic material, for example, that known commercially under the name "TEFZEL".
The major difficulty encountered in the end-to-end connection of such fibers is the fact that the silicone of the casing or the sheathing is soft and fragile which requires delicate handling of the fiber after removal of the outside protective sheathing.
The known processes for connecting such optical fibers include removing from the end of each fiber both the outside protective sheathing and the silicone sheathing. The fiber with its core open to the air is then inserted in a connector tip and immobilized either by direct cementing of the core or by mechanical restraint of the outside sheathing, with the core remaining movable. However, all of the known processes have the disadvantage of creating optical perturbations in the fiber at the level of the connector and so there exists significant losses at the connection, such losses being on the order of 3 dB. Moreover, placement of the fiber in the connector tip leads to an imprecise positioning and also risks pollution of and damage to the exposed end of the fiber core.